Below are the official 2021 Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars, selected by the coaches in the league.
Kelley-Rex Division MVP
Matt Boen, Mansfield
Kelley-Rex Division All Stars
Justin Daniels, Attleboro
Declan Walmsley, Franklin
Will Laplante, King Philip
Matt Boen, Mansfield
Jack Colby, Mansfield
Matt Hyland, Mansfield
Jordan Darling, Milford
Trent Santos, Taunton
Tyler Stewart, Taunton
Davenport Division Co-MVPs
Amari Brown, Oliver Ames
George Ladd, North Attleboro
Davenport Division All Stars
Ryan Connerney, Canton
Dylan Gordon, Foxboro
Alex Penders, Foxboro
George Ladd, North Attleboro
Brody Rosenberg, North Attleboro
Amari Brown, Oliver Ames
Drew Baxter, Oliver Ames
KC Ugwuakazi, Stoughton
Matt Baskin, Sharon
Below are the official 2021 Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league. Below are the official Hockomock League Boys Basketball All Stars and honorable mentions, selected by the coaches in the league.
Sharon, 50 @ Milford, 62 – Final – Six players in a game-changing second quarter as Milford turned a close game into a comfortable lead that it never relinquished. The Hawks had a 10-6 lead after eight minutes before exploding for 24 points in the second quarter with Ben Blanchard scoring seven of his 13 points and Jordan Darling netting seven of his 16 points to help Milford get the win. Wes Solomon and Max Martin each connected from three-point range while Ralph Franklin Jr. and Brady Olson each scored in the second to give the Hawks a 34-15 lead at halftime. Blanchard added two more threes and Darling connected from three in the third as Milford carried a 48-35 lead into the fourth quarter. Sharon had 10 players get into the scoring column as Rohan Prakash came off the bench to tie for a team-high eight points.
Stoughton, 53 @ Oliver Ames, 62 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this game. – Oliver Ames overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to pick up a win over Stoughton, clinching sole possession of the Davenport division title. The Black Knights had a great start, putting up 17 points in the first quarter and 19 more in the second to build a 36-26 lead at halftime. But OA’s defense limited the visitors to 13 points in the third and just four in the fourth, and on the offensive end the Tigers cashed in on 23 offensive rebounds to get the win. OA exploded for 26 points in the third to take a 52-49 lead into the fourth. With points hard to come by in the fourth, Stoughton got possession back down 56-53 with 1:35 to play but an issue with the official book resulted in a technical foul on the Black Knights. OA sank both free throws, snapping a 3:30 scoreless drought. OA got a big stop and Amari Brown (23 points) scored in transition to ice the win. Drew Nickla (16 points, 11 rebounds) was the catalyst behind the offensive rebounding surge while Drew Baxter added nine points and six rebounds and Will Whiteside had seven points and 14 rebounds. Stoughton junior KC Ugwuakazi had 16 points and eight rebounds while senior Waseem Sablon added 13 points.
Taunton, 59 @ Attleboro, 56 – Final – Taunton got just enough stops down the stretch, including a go-ahead three-point attempt from Attleboro with five seconds to go, to earn the win on the road and keep its division title hopes alive. Senior Tyler Stewart scored six of his 20 points in the final frame and junior Tristan Herry hit a huge three with just over four minutes to go to put the visitors up 56-54. Attleboro tied the game off a Taunton turnover with senior Justin Daniels, who scored a career-high 29 points, converted a layup with three minutes to go. Stewart put Taunton ahead with a free throw and the Tigers blanked the Bombardiers the rest of the way. Junior Trent Santos added 13 points and junior Faisal Mass had 11 points in the win for the Tigers. Evan Houle and Alec Eaton chipped in with nine points apiece for Attleboro.
Mansfield, 74 vs. Lowell Catholic, 57 – Final – Holding a six-point lead at halftime, Mansfield dropped 21 points in the third quarter to turn its advantage into 57-42 going into the final quarter. Brendan Foley, Jack Colby, and Matt Hyland all hit from three-point range and had five points apiece in the third to help the Hornets pull away for the win. Senior Matt Boen led the offensive charge with 20 points along with nine assists and six rebounds. Hyland finished with a career-high 17 points an eight assists while Foley had 12 points and Colby chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Girls Basketball
Oliver Ames, 63 @ Stoughton, 15 – Final – Oliver Ames completed a perfect 10-0 season with a win on the road over Stoughton. Caroline Peper led the balanced scoring attack for the Tigers with 12 points while Kelsey Yelle added 10 points and Caroline Flynn chipped in wit nine points. Freshman Jasmyn Cooper finished with eight boards in the win.
Boys Basketball
Stoughton, 67 @ Franklin, 77 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery from this game – Franklin created separation in the opening quarter and that was proved to be the difference in a non-league crossover clash between the Panthers and visiting Stoughton. The hosts used a 15-3 surge in the first quarter, outscoring the Black Knights 22-10 overall in the first eight minutes. The game hovered around the 10-point cushion the rest of the way, with Stoughton winning the second (17-16) and fourth (21-18) quarters while Franklin edged the visitors in the third (21-19). The closest Stoughton got the rest of the way was seven, down 34-27 in the second quarter, and Franklin had the lead up to as much 19 (49-32) in the third. But the Black Knights continued to make a game of it, the game playing out like a one-possession game throughout. Stoughton made it an eight point game, 70-62, in the final minutes but Jake O’Brien delivered a dagger three, one of 13 made triples for the Panthers. Declan Walmsley saved the best for last, dropping a career-high 34 points (on 71% shooting) along with 11 rebounds in the final game of his high school career. Junior Sean Vinson came off the bench and added a career-high 12 points and six rebounds while Alex Newman had nine points and four boards for the hosts. Senior Waseem Sablon hit six threes for a career-high 22 points for Stoughton while junior KC Ugwuakazi had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and senior Jake Queeney finished with 10 points and three assists.
Girls Basketball
Foxboro, 78 @ King Philip, 68 – Final – Foxboro led by 20 points at halftime and then had to hold off a furious KP comeback to close out the season with a seventh straight victory. KP got the lead down to as little as four in the second half, but the visitors made the plays down the stretch to secure the win. Katelyn Mollica closed out her stellar career with by scoring a career-high 35 points. The two-time state champion, Stonehill College-commit, and league’s leading scorer finished her career with more than 1,400 points, which puts her fourth all-time in program (and school) history. Caroline Aaron was the spark for KP, as she also put up a career-high, scoring 26 points in the loss. Jordyn Collins added 13 points and Hannah Blake and Erin Foley both had 11 for Foxboro.
Stoughton, 24 @ Oliver Ames, 71 – Final – Oliver Ames’ offense was firing on all cylinders on Saturday morning, pouring in 42 first half points in a big win over Stoughton, clinching the Davenport division title. Junior Caroline Peper led the way in scoring with 19 points while senior Kelsey Yelle added 17 points and 15 rebounds in the win. OA recorded 28 assists as a team.
Canton, 59 @ Attleboro, 52 – Final – Canton held off a late Attleboro comeback to close out the season with four straight wins. Kiara Cerruti paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 17. Sydney Gallery added 15 and Fay Gallery chipped in with 11 for Canton. Attleboro cut a 10-point lead in half with a minute remaining, but the Bulldogs had enough on both ends to finish with the victory. Meghan Gordon was Attleboro’s top scorer with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Kayla Goldrick scored 11 points and Narissa Smith and Emma Reilly both finished with eight. Attleboro coach Marty Crowley called it a “great Hock game between two good teams.”
Boys Hockey
North Attleboro, 3 @ Mansfield, 9 – Final
Boys Basketball
Stoughton, 47 @ Mansfield, 70 – Final – Mansfield closed the third quarter on a 10-2 and never looked back in a win over Stoughton in a non-league crossover clash. The Black Knights, who had a a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, made it a four-point game when senior Jake Queeney (11 points) scored five straight points to cut the deficit to 40-36 with under four minutes to go in the third. Jack Colby, who recorded a career-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, started the run with a hustle play on the offensive glass and capped it with a bucket through contact with under a minute to go as the Hornets staked a 50-38 lead going into the fourth. Mansfield’s offense had its way in the final frame with 23 points. Matt Boen added 16 assists, seven steals, five assists, and four rebounds for the Hornets, senior Brendan Foley chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds, and junior Chris Hill finished with nine points. Four players scored in double figures for the Knights, with Brett Pendenza (12 points, five rebounds), KC Ugwuakazi (10 points, 10 rebounds), and Connor Andrews (10 points, five rebounds) joining Queeney.
Girls Basketball
Taunton, 38 @ Attleboro, 64 – Final – Nine Attleboro players got on the scoresheet as the Bombardiers clinched second place in the Kelley-Rex division. Meghan Gordon scored a game-high 16 points and Narissa Smith added 11. Emma Reilly chipped in with eight points and Kayla Goldrick provided and impact on both ends of the floor. Jaelyn Fernandez topped Taunton with 13 points and Sonya Fernandez scored 10. Kyanna Barros added four for the Tigers. It was a five-point game after one quarter (14-9) but Attleboro hit another gear in the second, outscoring Taunton 25-6 to break the game wide open.
Stoughton’s Waseem Sablon goes up for a layup in the second half against Sharon. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
STOUGHTON, Mass. – On Monday evening, the Stoughton boys basketball team went into Sharon, controlled the tempo, and put up its best offensive performance of the season in a comfortable win over the Eagles.
On Tuesday night, the Black Knights did it again.
Stoughton boys basketball
From senior Colby Andrews’ first basket just 10 seconds into the contest up until sophomore Rayan Sablon’s three-pointer in the final minute, Stoughton had its foot on the gas from start to finish to earn a 74-56 win over the visiting Eagles.
It marked Stoughton’s best offensive output of the season and the most points scored by any Davenport division team so far this season.
“That’s the pace we want, we want to pick it up and we want to get shots up,” said first-year Stoughton head coach Evan Taylor. “I think it’s just been about getting more comfortable with the offense, just being together more as a team. We’re playing together as a team more, everyone is touching the ball and getting more involved.
“We’ve really started to pick up the pace a lot more, which is the tempo we want to play at. Obviously, it helps when shots start falling that weren’t following to start the season. We’ve always had the confidence in the shots, now we’re starting to see them fall.”
The Black Knights were coming off a 72-point performance just 24 hours earlier on the road at Sharon. They followed a similar blueprint on their home court. Stoughton’s offense was off and running from the beginning, laughing up 23 field goal attempts — with seven makes — over the first eight minutes with just one turnover.
That resulted in a 16-13 lead for the hosts, which could have been more if not for a terrific individual effort from Sharon sophomore Matt Baur (18 points, five rebounds), who hit five of the Eagles’ six shots from the floor and had 11 points to keep the visitors close.
Christian Georges converted a putback attempt to push Stoughton’s lead to eight just over two minutes into the second but the Eagles continued to keep up with the Black Knights’ torrid pace. Sam Cohen hit a jumper, Owen Conway drove to the basket for two, and Baur drained a triple. Kiran Chandrasekaran sank a pair of free throws to get the visitors within four, 28-24, with three minutes to go in the first half.
That’s when Stoughton showed just how quickly and deadly its offense can be when it gets going. Junior Connor Andrews drained a three after an offensive rebound and pass from junior KC Ugwuakazi (17 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks). Andrews came up with a turnover on the ensuing inbounds and found senior Jake Queeney (15 points) for a triple, and after two straight Eagles’ turnovers, Ugwuakazi cleaned up his own miss.
Stoughton continued to crash the offensive glass (23 offensive rebounds), this time Cashmere Mathurin grabbed a board and put it back up for two to complete a 10-0 run in less than two minutes.
Even though Sharon broke the run out of a timeout when Ryan Zunenshine converted an offensive rebound into two points, the Black Knights added seven more points over the final minute. Brett Pendenza made a pair of free throws, Sablon drained a three, and Mathurin beat the buzzer with a hard banked-in shot to give Stoughton a 45-28 halftime lead.
Stoughton boys basketball
“That’s not the pace we want to play at,” said Sharon head coach Andrew Ferguson, his side committing 10 of its 14 turnovers in the opening half. “The same thing happened last night. They sped us up, they played at the pace they wanted to and that’s a credit to them. We stressed trying to play slower, execute our offense, run our screens, slips, back doors, and we didn’t do it. It was too much one on one, too much first pass shot. It’s disappointing because we had been playing well. We needed to slow it down in this game but we couldn’t play at the pace we wanted.
“We let our bad defensive possessions affect our offense, and we let our bad offensive possessions affect our defensive possessions, it’s a snowball. We weren’t communicating enough defensively, we were helping off the wrong spots, and then we were just selfish on offense.”
A switch to a zone defense by the Eagles helped some but was merely a speed bump for the Black Knights. Brady Conlin knocked down a three against the zone early, and after Stoughton’s longest scoreless stretch of the game of nearly three minutes, Pendenza and Queeney delivered back-to-back triples to help Stoughton push its lead to 54-35 just past the midway point of the third.
Queeney’s isolation step-back triple extended Stoughton’s advantage to 59-37 with two minutes to go in the third but Sharon made a final push to get back into it. Matt Baskin (nine points, 10 rebounds) went coast-to-coast for two and then sank a triple after a Stoughton turnover. Zunenshine used a crafty finish for two and Ryan Baker’s contested heave from deep three-point territory beat the buzzer as the Eagles got back into the game, down 59-47 going into the fourth.
Zunenshine opened with two more to make it a 10-point game but that would be the closest the Eagles would get the rest of the way. Ugwuakazi scored four straight points, had a big block on the defensive end, and Queeney converted another offensive rebound into points as Stoughton restored a comfortable lead at 65-49.
“In the beginning of the season, they’re probably going the other way,” Taylor said of the close game situations in the second and fourth quarters. “There’s been some mental growth. It’s been a growing season for all of them, and with just two returners back from last year, we knew it would be. Everybody is getting experience now, and everyone is learning together. We’ve been watching film, just trying to get better as a team each day.”
Stoughton (4-5 Davenport, 4-5 overall) travels to Mansfield on Thursday for its first of three straight games against Kelley-Rex opponents. Sharon (3-4, 3-5) returns home on Friday night against rival Oliver Ames.
Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 44 @ Franklin, 60 – Final – Franklin established a lead after a quarter, built on it by halftime, and pulled away with a dominant third quarter to avenge its loss to Attleboro. The Panthers were up 31-20 at the halftime break before winning the third quarter, 20-4, to put the game away. Declan Walmsley (13 points) hit a pair of threes in the third, Andrew Byfield (11 points) added five points and both Jake O’Brien and Zach Harvey added four as the Panthers took a 51-24 lead into the final frame.
Oliver Ames, 51 @ Stoughton, 47 – Final – Oliver Ames senior Drew Nickla beat the shot clock with a spinning shot in the lane with just over a minute to go and the Tigers hung on for a win over the Black Knights. Nickla scored eight of his career-high 20 points as the Tigers raced out to a 21-6 lead through eight minutes, and carrie a 29-17 advantage into halftime. OA led by 10 (42-32) going into the fourth but a late 7-0 run from the Knights made it a two-point game in the final minutes, setting up Nickla’s big basket. Amari Brown added 11 points for OA in the win. Brett Pendenza scored a team-high 18 points for Stoughton while KC Ugwuakazi chipped in with 10 points.
Mansfield, 74 @ Milford, 36 – Final – After a close first quarter, Mansfield extended its lead to double-digits by halftime and never looked back in a win over Milford. The Hornets held a slim 10-8 lead after a quarter, pushed the advantage to 30-16 at halftime, and went off for 22 third quarter points for a 52-30 edge going into the final frame. Senior Matt Boen led the way with a team-high 30 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two assists, junior Chris Hill added 15 points, five rebounds, and four steals, and senior Brendan Foley finished with 10 points.
King Philip, 55 @ Taunton, 84 – Final – Taunton’s offense was too much too handle for the visiting Warriors as the Tigers scored 40 first half points and exploded for 29 points in the third quarter to pull away. The Warriors kept pace with the hosts through the first eight minutes, trailing by just two, 21-19, after the first. Taunton’s offense kept rolling with 19 more points in the second for a 40-28 lead at halftime before its 29-point third made it 69-43. Junior Trent Santos scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the third. Tyler Stewart added 16 points, Josh Lopes finished with 13 points, Nigel Choate chipped in with 11 points and Danny MacDougall scored 10 points for Taunton. Sophomore Will Laplante led KP with a game-high 20 points.
Girls Basketball
Franklin, 47 @ Attleboro, 28 – Final – Franklin closed out is second straight unbeaten regular season with a sweep of the Bombardiers. Olivia Quinn led the Panthers in all 10 games this season, including 16 points against Attleboro. Elizabeth Wilson, who recently committed to Endicott College, chipped in with nine points for the Panthers.
Sharon, 22 @ North Attleboro, 65 – Final – North celebrated senior night with a strong defensive performance and a big win. All four seniors hit double digits for the Rocketeers. Amanda Kaiser led the way with 19, including 12 in the opening quarter. Lydia Santos added a dozen, Siobhan Weir had 11 points, and Cailyn Maxcy scored a career-high 10. North led 40-16 at halftime, but allowed only six points after the break and North coach Nikki Correia praised her team’s pressure defense for creating easy baskets on the other end of the floor.
Stoughton @ Oliver Ames – Postponed to TBD.
Milford, 41 @ Mansfield, 61 – Final – All 10 Hornets scored for Mansfield on Thursday, as the Hornets pulled away for a big win. Olivia Salisbury scored nine point to pace Mansfield, while Abby Wager and Kayla Vine each scored eight points. Jillian Michelson was Milford’s top scorer with 10 points.
Boys Hockey
Stoughton, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 2 – Final – Oliver Ames avenged its loss to the Black Knights on Wednesday evening with a 2-1 win on Thursday afternoon. Freshman Jack Corey scored his first career goal while classmate Andy Livingstone scored the game-winner late in the third for the Tigers.
Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 58 @ Mansfield, 66 – Final – Mansfield senior Matt Boen poured in a career-high 35 points to help the Hornets overcome an upset bid from visiting Attleboro. The Bombardiers built an eight-point lead after eight minutes (18-10) but Mansfield battled back to make it a two-point game, 33-31, at halftime. Both teams went for 11 points in the third as Attleboro carried a 44-42 lead into the fourth. But Boen flipped a switch in the final frame, hitting a pair of threes and six total field goals, netting 16 points to help the Hornets pull away. Boen also scored 10 points in the second to help the Hornets close the gap. Jack Colby added 10 points while Matt Hyland had eight points. Attleboro senior Justin Daniels shined with a career-high 25 points while Evan Houle and Trevor White each had eight points for the Bombardiers.
Canton @ North Attleboro – Postponed to TBD.
Stoughton, 52 @ Foxboro, 44 – Final – After being held to 23 points through three quarters, Stoughton’s offense exploded for 29 points in the fourth quarter to storm past Foxboro. It was a low scoring first half for both sides with the Warriors staking a 14-9 lead through a quarter and an 18-16 lead at halftime. Foxboro had its best offensive showing in third as sophomore Alex Penders (14 points) scored nine of the team’s 13 points to seize a 31-23 lead going into the fourth. But the Black Knights caught fire from three-point land with Connor Andrews (nine points) and Waseem Sablon (10 points) each hitting two and Jake Queeney adding another. Queeney’s three midway through the period gave Stoughton a 38-37 lead before Foxboro jumped back ahead on two free throws from Dylan Gordon (18 points). A strong take from Brett Pendenza put Stoughton back ahead and a steal from Sablon led to two points from junior KC Ugwuakazi (17 points). After a stop, Sablon drained a three as the clock ticked under two minutes. Foxboro got two back from the line but Andrews hit a straightaway three off an offensive rebound to make it 48-40 with a minute to go to ice the win.
Girls Basketball
Mansfield, 41 @ Attleboro, 63 – Final – For the second straight game, Attleboro jumped out to a big first quarter lead, but this time the Bombardiers kept control and didn’t let Mansfield back into the contest. Attleboro led 25-10 after the first quarter, as Meghan Gordon and Narissa Smith combined for 18 of the team’s 25 points. Unlike on Tuesday night, Mansfield couldn’t mount a second quarter comeback and the Bombardiers went into the break leading 42-19. Gordon finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds and Smith scored 14 points (knocking down four threes on the night). Emma Reilly added eight in the win. Attleboro coach Marty Crowley said it was a “great team victory. Our defense was outstanding tonight.” The Hornets were led by Sarah Dooling and Abby Wager, who each finished with eight points.
Foxboro, 53 @ Stoughton, 13 – Final – Katelyn Mollica had her second straight game with 20-plus points and Foxboro swept the series against the Black Knights with a strong defensive performance. Mollica finished with 22 on the night and Hannah Blake chipped in with nine.
Franklin, 66 @ Taunton, 29 – Final – Franklin went on the road and scored a big win to stay unbeaten on the season. Olivia Quinn was the top scorer for the Panthers with 12 points, but it was a balanced effort as all 13 players got on the score sheet. Taunton got nine points from Sonya Fernandez and eight points from Jaelyn Fernandez in the season opener for the Tigers.
Oliver Ames, 52 @ Sharon, 15 – Final – Oliver Ames used a balanced attack to get a season sweep of Sharon. Caroline Flynn didn’t miss a shot, finishing with 11 points while Sarah Hilliard added eight points. Jasmyn Cooper hauled in 10 rebounds while Maddie Homer had six steals.
North Attleboro @ Canton – Postponed to Friday, 2/12.
King Philip, 72 @ Milford, 38 – Final – Emily Sawyer scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to get the Warriors back in the win column. Fellow sophomore Jackie Bonner scored 11 points for KP, which jumped out to a 43-15 lead by halftime and knocked down 11 threes as a team. Milford was led by Emma Lawrence and Jillian Michelson, who both scored eight points.
Girls Hockey
King Philip, 3 vs. Austin Prep, 8 – Final
Swimming
Attleboro @ Mansfield, 5:00
Sharon vs. Oliver Ames, 3:30
Foxboro, 64 @ Stoughton, 67 – Final – In a back-and-forth contest, Stoughton won the fourth quarter and the game, holding on as Foxboro’s shot at the buzzer was just off the mark. After a strong start from the Black Knights, Foxboro used a 20-2 in the first quarter to take a double-digit lead after eight minutes. Dylan Gordon (19 points), Sam Golub (11 points), and Ryan LeClair (career-high 15 points) all hit threes in the opening period to give the visitors the lead. Stoughton responded with a big second quarter, with six players recording a field goal including a pair of threes from senior Jake Queeney (career-high 15 points) and one from Christian Georges to tie the game 33-33 at halftime. Golub added two more triples in the third and sophomore Alex Penders had six of his 16 points in the third to help Foxboro take a 52-50 lead going into the fourth. Stoughton junior KC Ugwuakazi scored all of his 14 points in the second half and helped set up one of the biggest shots of the game. With two minutes to go, Ugwuakazi took a pass in the paint and drew the attention of the defense. He found Connor Andrews (nine points), who quickly skipped a pass to Brett Pendenza (career-high 16 points) for a corner three to make it 65-60 with two minutes to play.
Oliver Ames @ Sharon – Postponed to TBD.
King Philip, 61 @ Milford, 66 – Final – Ten players entered the scoring sheet for the Hawks, who broke into the win column with a win over visiting King Philip. The Hawks increased their advantage after each of the first three quarters, holding the visiting Warriors at arms length down the stretch. Senior Jordan Darling scored eight of his 10 points in the opening half while Ben Blanchard (team-high 12 points), Brady Olson, and Wes Solomon all connected from three-point range in the second to give Milford a 33-25 lead at halftime. Dom Schofield and Sean Murray each scored eight points in the third and Max Martin hit a three as the Hawks pushed the advantage to 50-41 going into the final frame. King Philip sophomore Will Laplante hit seven three-pointers for a career-high 26 points to help keep the Warriors in the game. Junior Danny Clancy scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half for KP.
Stoughton, 19 @ Foxboro, 76 – Final – All 11 players scored for Foxboro, which ended its two-game losing streak and moved back over .500 on the season. Katelyn Mollica was the game’s top scorer with 27 points. Camryn Collins also hit double digits with 10 points and Hannah Blake added nine.
Sharon, 13 @ Oliver Ames, 58 – Final – Oliver Ames got off to a strong start and never looked back, earning a win at home behind a complete game effort. Caroline Peper was the leading scorer for OA with 11 points while Jess Erlich, Jasmyn Cooper, and Anna Murphy each chipped in with seven points. Caroline Flynn dished out eight assists in the win.
North Attleboro senior George Ladd goes up for a shot in the first half against Stoughton. Ladd finished with 21 points. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The North Attleboro boys basketball team was on the verge of running away with a win during the third period, but visiting Stoughton made enough plays to stay in striking distance.
When given a second chance to put the game to bed, the Rocketeers didn’t take their foot off the pedal and ran away with a 61-36 decision over the Black Knights.
North extended its lead to 15 points with three minutes left in the third but the Black Knights chipped away, led by some hustle plays from junior Connor Andrews. Andrews took a charge and hauled in a pair of defensive rebounds on one end, and scored five straight on the other end to keep the visitors’ hopes alive, down 36-26.
But the Rocketeers’ offense couldn’t be contained in the fourth quarter. Senior George Ladd (eight rebounds) scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the final frame, taking advantage of Stoughton turnovers and second-chance points. North ended up with 25 points in the quarter, pulling away for the win.
“In the third quarter we kind of relaxed a little and took our foot off the gas,” admitted North Attleboro head coach Sean Mulkerrins, who is in his eighth year at the helm. “In the fourth, I thought our defensive focus was better, our rebounding focus was better, and our attention to protecting the ball was better and I think that was the difference. We thought we had a better man-to-man defense scheme than we executed the first game so we worked a lot on that in practice.”
Junior Casey Poirier set the tone in the first minute, taking a charge as the Rocketeers’ defense forced back-to-back turnovers to start the quarter. On the other end, senior Edan Kelley (seven points, five assists) found Ladd cutting backdoor on an inbounds play, a lob finished plus the foul for a three-point play and the Rocketeers were off and running.
Kelley found Jared Vacher for two and Ladd hit two free throws after a Stoughton turnover. Kelley and Ladd hooked up once again with the latter using a nice scoop finish. Poirier’s hard drive drew the defense’s attention and Ladd was there to finish again. Vacher missed the front end of a one-and-one but grabbed his own miss and snuck a layup in.
Three of Stoughton’s next four possessions resulted in turnovers, the last two turning into back-to-back buckets for Ladd and Brody Rosenberg (11 points, seven rebounds), as North opened the quarter with a 17-7 run and took a 53-33 lead with just over three minutes to go.
North Attleboro boys basketball
“We’re not really a team that gets up and forces a lot of turnovers, we’re trying to play solid defense without giving up easy ones,” Mulkerrins said. “With everything going on this season, lack of practice, roster moves, I think that’s naturally going to lead to turnovers so if you can just be solid defensively, more often than not you’ll be in a good spot.”
Besides the first basket of the game from Stoughton junior KC Ugwuakazi (eight points, 11 rebounds), the Rocketeers never trailed. The response was a 14-2 run in the opening quarter. Rosenberg sliced through the defense, Ladd cleaned up a miss, Kelley confidently sank a triple, Poirier hit one from the line and Ladd scored again. Kelley scored back-to-back baskets and North stretched its lead to double digits in the opening quarter.
“When a couple of things go wrong, and it feels like we’re down a hundred then we try to make up all the points on one play instead of slowly chipping away at it,” said first-year Stoughton head coach Evan Taylor. “I think it starts with a better start at the beginning of the game.”
“I think the biggest concern is on the offensive end. We’ve been playing pretty well defensively, holding teams to reasonable scores besides tonight. But we’re just not scoring enough, we’re not being aggressive enough. I don’t think we’re being unselfish enough. We have too many guys looking for their own shot and it shows on the scoreboard. Our offense as a whole needs to play more together.”
The second was a bit better for the Black Knights, who outscored the hosts 10-9 in the frame. Both Andrews and Jake Queeney connected from three-point range to keep Stoughton close but North got some key contributions from its bench, as it did throughout the entire game.
After Queeney’s triple cut the deficit to four, Nate Bennett’s hustle led to a putback off his own miss. And Rosenberg hit a key triple late in the quarter, getting an open look after a nice off-ball screen from Jason Rodriguez.
The contributions from the bench continued into the third as Tommy Onorato knocked down a triple on one end and Rodriguez stepped in to take a charge on Stoughton’s ensuing possession.
“I have all the faith in the world in every single one of these kids,” said Mulkerrins, who played his entire available roster, most in meaningful minutes. “They are here every day, working hard in practice…we’re trying to pride ourselves this year on having really competitive practices and giving guys a chance. We talk about when guys come off the bench, the energy level has to go up. We had guys do that tonight, Jason Rodriguez stepped up and his focus was there, we got the ball in his hand on offense. I was really proud of the group tonight, they really made the best of their minutes.”
Stoughton got a stop early in the third but the defensive rebound was quickly turned over and Rosenberg dished it off to Ladd for two. Two more from Rosenberg and Onorato’s three pushed North’s lead to 32-17.
North Attleboro (2-1) returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to take on Canton (3-1). Stoughton (0-4) will look for its first win when it hosts Foxboro on the same day.
Canton senior Eric Mischler beats the buzzer with a shot over Stoughton defenders at the end of the first half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
STOUGHTON, Mass. – Canton entered Thursday night’s contest against Stoughton well aware it was at a severe height disadvantage.
Canton boys basketball
And as the game went on, the Black Knights slowly found ways to get the ball into the paint to exploit that advantage.
But in crunch time, with the game hanging in the balance, the Bulldog defense slammed the door shut. Canton didn’t give Stoughton a single look inside, holding the Knights scoreless for the final 3:33 of the game to secure a 46-40 win on the road.
Senior Eric Mischler took a pass from Steve Burbank and drained a three early in the fourth to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game, 41-33. But over the next three minutes, the Black Knights clawed back into it.
Canton boys basketball
Jake Queeney crashed the offensive glass for an uncontested putback, KC Ugwuakazi (15 points, 12 rebounds) converted putback, and two possessions later, converted an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the hosts within one possession, down 43-40.
The Black Knights, however, never attempted another shot from in close the rest of the way, nor did they get a second chance on offense as Canton cleaned up the boards. Stoughton’s final seven possessions resulted in two turnovers and five three-point attempts.
“For us, it was about ball pressure, pressuring the guy making the pass,” said Canton head coach Ryan Gordy, now in his 10th season at the helm of the Bulldogs. “KC is a problem down low, he is a good player. “Sometimes we did a good job of it and they struggled to get the pass in and it allowed our help defense to rotate, and the times we were late they got good touches and scored. I thought it all about just pressuring them.”
Junior Lanse Dorcelus sliced through the Stoughton defense and scored at the rim with just under two minutes to play to pad Canton’s lead. More stops and a free throw from Dillon Nguyen sealed the deal.
“I think a lot of just comes back to practice,” said first-year Stoughton head coach Evan Taylor. “It’s obviously a strange year, this is only our fourth day that we’ve been together in the past two weeks and two of those days were games. I think as the season goes on, we’ll eliminate some of the mistakes you saw tonight, we’ll study the film more, and get back on track.”
“Canton was doing a good job [preventing it], they are a good defensive team, well-coached but we just didn’t execute,” Taylor said about getting enough paint touches. “We were trying to get some looks inside but I think the lack of execution comes from the lack of practice.”
Mischler (game-high 17 points) helped the Bulldogs get off to a strong start on the offensive end. The team’s leading scorer last season, the Black Knights bottled Mischler up on Tuesday night, holding the senior to just eight points. On Thursday, Mischler came out and hit an early three and had six points in the opening quarter.
Canton boys basketball
After just two makes in the first quarter, Stoughton’s offense found a bit of a groove in the second. Connor Andrews came off the bench with five straight points and the Knights scored six straight attacking the rim. Elisha Claude, the defending Hockomock League champion in the indoor high jump who is playing hoops this season with track delayed, drained a triple and Stoughton had its largest lead at 21-17.
Canton was quick to answer as Nguyen found Mischler wide open cutting to the basket, Dorcelus tied the game on a fast break, and Mischler hit a turnaround midrange jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 23-21 lead at the break.
“[Stoughton] did a really good job on Eric on Tuesday,” Gordy said. “To his credit, Eric watched a ton of film and studied some things he wasn’t doing right and he just came out with a different mindset tonight. He came out like a senior all-star, it’s his team. His mindset and approach was great after they had a really good game plan on Tuesday. And when other guys are hitting shots, it opens up everything.”
A putback from Matt Giglio and a layup from Mischler were answered by back-to-back buckets from Ugwuakazi down low in the paint. And a corner three just before the shot clock from Brady Conlin had the Black Knights ahead.
But the Bulldogs had three players step up and deliver shots over the final four minutes of the quarter that gave the visitors the lead for good. First, Burbank drained a triple for a 30-28 lead. After Waseem Sablon put Stoughton up with 1:32 to play, Ryan Connerney made three straight big plays. First, a strong take to his left past his defender was good for two.
After another Stoughton turnover, Connerney dished to Will Keefe (career-high 11 points) in the corner for a triple with under a minute to go. The Black Knights once again lost possession and this time Connerney knocked down the three himself just before the buzzer for a 38-31 lead after three.
“Six points felt like a lot of points tonight as far as a cushion,” Gordy said of those points at the end of the third. “So when you can knock down a couple of threes, it just opens up the spacing and lets us to hit some back cuts, opens up some driving lanes. In the second quarter when we weren’t hitting, they did a good job of collapsing their defense and kind of daring us to shoot. So when you knock them down, it opens everything up.”
The Black Knights limited Mischler to just five points in the second half, but Burbank, Keefe, and Connerney all connected from deep to supplement the offense.
“When the other guys start hitting shots, any team is going to be tough to stop,” Taylor said. “We knew they had some other shooters, when they start hitting shots it’s tough. If we’re able to hit some of our shots, maybe it’s a different game but [Canton] played well, they were well-prepared.”
Canton boys basketball (2-0) is scheduled to take on Sharon in a battle of unbeatens on Tuesday. Stoughton (0-2) will host North Attleboro on the same night.
